Calling all Cascadians!

Regenerative Subsistence Seasonal & Bioregion Strategies
#1

So you may have noticed the series Anthropik is doing on bioregionalism, inspired by Joel Garreau’s Nine Nations of North America. If you haven’t, here’s the catch-up:

Bioregionalism in North America
Mexamerica
The Longhouse

I’m going to be doing one article in this series, the one on Cascadia. Since there are so many primitivists in Cascadia (several of whom run and/or contribute to this website), I thought I’d send a shout-out to you guys: what do you think of the current culture of Cascadia, how it relates to the indigenous cultures it replaced, and how the region will react to collapse?

Oh, also, Willem? Mind if we put “Bioregionalism: It Puts You In Your Place!” on a t-shirt? ;D I know I took out “animism,” I just thought that was too long…

#2
Oh, also, Willem? Mind if we put "Bioregionalism: It Puts You In Your Place!" on a t-shirt? Grin I know I took out "animism," I just thought that was too long...

Haha. Sure. Did I say that? It made me laugh, but then I often laugh at my own jokes.

As far as the cascadian questions, I’ll have to think about 'em, though I do have some fun articles I could send you. Well, ‘fun’ might put it a bit strongly. :slight_smile:

#3

Miss Prissy-

Check out this article: http://www.ubyssey.bc.ca/OldWebs/2006/20060224/article.shtml?<!--1-->Feature/feat.html

(scroll down a ways to find it)

““Cascadia should be first and foremost an ecotopia” by Frieda Luk, Features Writer”

p.s. it looks like “bioregional animism: it puts you in your place” came from here.

#4

Thanks for the link!

p.s. it looks like "bioregional animism: it puts you in your place" came from here.
Whoops... why did I think that was you? Oh well. I'll ask him, then. :)
#5

How about “Eat local: It puts your place in you!”

:slight_smile:

#6

I’m near the cascades… I have to say when going thru there it was my favourite place ever.

#7

Hey Guili,

I’ve been thinking. Portland may be one of the last cities to collapse. Mostly because of the economic growth happening here. Because we are the “leader in sustainability,” we may be the last city to collapse since everyone will pour their money into “sustainable developement.” I think that this kind of developement will be the last kind.

When real survival starts to come into play in collapsing areas, fake sustainability will keep being made here in the PNW.

Just a thought. Anyone else?

#8

I’m right there with you urban scout. I can definately see that happening in certain collapse scenarios. I don’t think they would be able to hold on that much longer than the rest though, it’d still go down pretty fast.

#9

I’m not as optimistic as Urban Scout and TrollSplinter I just look at the slow rotting decay I saw in Africa, where the rich had all they needed and the rest are, at best, to tired to live there life of slow rotting decay. People don’t like to change, I have a vision of people grasping at the last visage of civilization like a drug addict knowing it’s killing him but he can’t tare himself away from the poison his flawed mind tells him he needs.

#10

I’m not optimistic at all. Portland lasting longer than other places will only mean more destruction of the PNW in the end. I want to see it all come down as fast as possible.

#11

I meant optimistic about a speedy collapse Urban Scout. I’m with you the faster the better

#12

I just saw this driving in heavy traffic today, after a friends/wife’s car broke down… so I gave them a ride, and just all the bullshit and crazyness hit me, and I saw flaming meteoroids hitting the city, if there’s to be a collapse, I’d much rather it happen something like that, just a quick destruction, cos it hurts seeing the people who are so dependent on the system bleed when the gas prices go up, or their car breaks down, and they get fired from their job and yada yada yada, so I hope it’s quick cos it hurts to see all this shit.

#13

I just hope that 99% of the people west of the Cascades stay over there and leave us on the east side alone.
Just bein’ honest, no offense intended to you folks over there.

#14

Now what kind of host says a thing like that, Billy?

I expect first class treatment when our pillaging cannibal biker gangs come flying over the passes and into your territory, firing our steel crossbows into the air, looking for fresh ‘long-pig’.

#15

Hah, “long pig”!

Well all you folks at the mouth of the Columbia just remember that shit goes downstream when the dams are gone.

#16

I wanted to respond to the original posts idea of connections to the original culture or indigenous culture of Cascadia. I might be being hopelessly naive here, but it seems that the indigenous cultures and the land here are a lot more intact than in other parts of the country. A lot of that influence is hidden and underground but there are still a lot of traditional ceremonies that happen in communities in the Pacific Northwest and it seems to influence the mainstream culture in subtle but powerful ways.

Just an example, Cascadia first peoples were known for their complex storytelling, art, ceremony and healing aspects of their culture. The abundance of salmon provided the opportunity to have some of the most intricate artwork in all of North America. It seems as if some form of this abundance is still here and people still put tons of time and energy into stories, arts, ceremony, and culture compared to other modern cities and places in the US.

Just some thoughts…

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#17

Oh one more thing,

I’ve heard it said by more than one traveller to the UK that Cascadia (at least the Westside) has a very weird resemblance culturally and in flora to a lot of Ireland and Scotland. The weather is the biggest similarity, but also salmon as a cultural piece and lost of same/similar plants and trees. Just look at any list of the sacred trees of the Druids (in ogham letter) and you’ll see how many grow here. So, possibly an post-collapse culture might have a weird Celtic-Salish mix…wait a second…this is starting to sound like a S.M. Stirling book…

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#18

[quote=“Pathfinder, post:17, topic:270”]Oh one more thing,

I’ve heard it said by more than one traveller to the UK that Cascadia (at least the Westside) has a very weird resemblance culturally and in flora to a lot of Ireland and Scotland. The weather is the biggest similarity, but also salmon as a cultural piece and lost of same/similar plants and trees. Just look at any list of the sacred trees of the Druids (in ogham letter) and you’ll see how many grow here. So, possibly an post-collapse culture might have a weird Celtic-Salish mix…wait a second…this is starting to sound like a S.M. Stirling book…[/quote]

Yes. Genius. Agreed. 100%. You got it. And don’t forget the Norse connection too: longhouses!

yrs,
Willem

#19

Well there’s a large scandinavian culture in the NW here, the area has a lot of the same feel as the lower portion of the Scandinavian peninsula.